Floyds Knobs, Indiana
After observing him conducting a workshop with high school students, one of Chris Bundy’s Indiana University instructors told him that “teaching the arts is going to be your passion.” This was truly prophetic: Mr. Bundy has spent over thirty-two years teaching theatre at four different schools, and has acted, directed, designed, or produced more than three hundred productions.
Mr. Bundy started his teaching career at West Washington High School in Campbellsburg, Indiana. The school had no theatre program and only a small, poorly equipped cafeteria stage. Within six years Mr. Bundy established six theatre classes and added a new studio theatre classroom and a second larger stage. The school’s Thespian troupe, one of several Mr. Bundy chartered over his career, was also invited to perform on the main stage at the Thespian Festival. The theatre department became as popular as the sports program, something unheard of in a small rural school at the time.
In 2001 and 2004 his students at Floyd Central High School, Floyds Knobs, Indiana were invited to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In preparation for staging a musical based in nineteenth century Edinburgh, Mr. Bundy brought in a guide and historian from Scotland to assist with the dialect and accents. The end product was a show that was well received within the Edinburgh community, and as a result his students formed a bond with the residents, which provided a unique educational experience for them.
Mr. Bundy brought eight shows to the Thespian Festival main stage beginning in 1982, and for many years he directed the sponsor auction at the Festival to raise scholarship funds.
Mr. Bundy served as Indiana state Thespian director and on the EdTA governing board.
In recognition for his work, Mr. Bundy has received several awards and honors, including being named an Artist of the Century, a Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow, and a Project e finalist.
